The Luxurious Rise of the Skate Sneaker

When I was in college, I had to wear a tuxedo for a male beauty pageant I participated in. More on that later—actually, never. Since I wanted extra edge, I wore the tux with a pair of checked Vans slip-ons. When I went to the rental place, the guy running it looked at me with puzzled eyes. "They still call those things Vans?" Of course they did, and they still do. Although the silhouette made famous by Vans has come a long way since then.

You can now find highfalutin’ versions everywhere from Topshop to Celine. Of course, nothing will compare to the original, but these evolutions are pretty on-point as far as I’m concerned. Shop the best of them above.